Dementia

Image shows indoor room with a widow and tree in the background. Foreground shows a younger woman with long blonde hair and wearing a beige sweater on a couch offering comfort to an older man sitting next to her. The man has gray hair and is holding his head in his upraised hands in grief or frustration. He's wearing a dark blue sweater over a lighter blue shirt.

Cognitive Decline Not Unusual after Hospitalization of Older Adults

Sometimes an older adult experiences a noticeable cognitive decline post-hospitalization. Families and caregivers are left wanting to know what happened and wondering if their...

Mid-2024 Roundup of Caregiver and Elder-Friendly Products, Services, and Technology

Dear Readers: It’s already mid-2024! That means it’s time for our bi-annual roundup of products, services, and technology. Remember these are not recommendations. I...

Close up of an angry woman with dark brown curly hair, wearing a chunky blue sweater. Shes got both hands on her forehead with her mouth wide open in frustration as if she's been crying

Siblings Who Don’t Help with Caregiving Have Several Excuses

Unfair as it may seem, even in families with many adult children, one sibling usually becomes the primary caregiver for their aging parents. In...

The background is the exterior of an older brick building. Foreground is an old woman in a flowered hat and contrasting flowered shirt and beige pants slouching in a wheelchair. Her expression is unhappy

Some People Aren’t Happy Unless They Complain. How to Cope with an Older Adult’s Negativity

Some Seniors Are Prone to Chronic Complaining: If an aging loved one has always been abrasive, complaining may be the only way they know...

Two younger adults facing each other arguing and pointing fingers. Both the man and woman are likely Asian descent. The man wears a dark gray tee shirt and the woman wear a dark gray elbow length top

Adult Siblings Are Often in Denial About a Parent’s Declining Health

Whether it stems from a subconscious need to ignore the fact that a parent is declining, or they want to pretend that caring for...

Image of a bandage-wrapped forearm with a fist down dark hand peeking out of wrapping. on the right is an open-palmed hand holding a bunch of pills.

Potential Causes of Skin Picking with Dementia and How to Help

Dear Carol: My mom is in mid-stage Alzheimer’s, so she has fidgety hands. Even though I lotion her skin regularly, she’ll zero in on...

Image background is a green house with rows of flowers. Foregound is a middle-aged couple. The gray haired man is tall and wearing a brown sweater. He's embracing a woman with long brown hair drawn back showing gray hair at the temples. She's wearing a brown and white print summer dress with off-the-shoulder ruffle.

Accepting Alzheimer’s Diagnosis Hard, Yet Capacity for Joy Remains

Dear Carol: Six months ago, our lives changed when my husband, age 58, was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He has good doctors who...